Vote for Willett: School in running for $50,000 grant

Willett Elementary School is in the running to win a $50,000 grant but needs the community’s support during the monthlong online voting period.

Beginning Monday and continuing through midnight on Dec. 19, adults and children ages 13 and up can visit www.PowerABrightFuture.com to vote once a day for the school.

Willett is one of seven schools nationwide vying for the grant, which is being offered by the Clorox Co.’s Power A Bright Future grant program.

Should Willett win, the school would use the money to revamp the computer lab, said Principal Heidi Perry.

The school’s computer lab, she said, “is outdated and ill-equipped to deal with the new California common core standards that are being implemented.”

Currently, the school has 55 computers — purchased in 2000 — used by 530 students in grades 2-6. The computer lab budget funded by the Willett PTA is $2,500 for the entire year.

PTA president Joy Klineberg said the association’s budget is slightly over half that of several PTAs in Davis, so “we cannot raise the funds needed to revamp the technology on our campus on our own.”

The school is urging the community to show their support by voting daily. The program that receives the highest number of votes will receive the $50,000 grant, while the next top vote-getters in the play, create and explore categories will each be awarded a $25,000 grant.

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Bekele Baker, 6, a first-grader at Willett Elementary School, works on a project in the computer lab. Courtesy photo

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Hanni Yu, 7, a second-grader at Willett Elementary School, joins her classmates in the school’s computer lab. The school is in the running to win a $50,000 grant but needs online votes from the community. Courtesy photo